Member Avatar for malrofo

why is that my T3104 emachines desktop only recognizes IDE drives connected to the IDE2 chennel on the motherboard. Currently there is a 100g hard drive, and a dvdrw drive connected and I cant add anything else. Tech support is no help

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A compact diagnostic checklist and safe fixes for the single PATA channel detection problem described by (and the PSU concern raised by ). Follow these steps in order to isolate whether this is a configuration, cable/jumper, power, or motherboard fault.

  1. BIOS / CMOS basics — boot into BIOS and confirm both IDE channels are enabled and set to Auto detect. If settings look odd, reset CMOS (battery removal or jumper) and try again; this clears accidental disablement of a channel. Guidance: .

  2. Jumpers and the ribbon cable — older drives must be configured as Master/Slave or Cable Select correctly. On a single PATA cable the end connector is normally Master; the middle is Slave. A mis-set jumper or wrong cable connector frequently makes one channel appear dead. Quick test: move the suspect drive (with correct jumper) to the other channel and see whether it’s detected. More background on device selection and cable wiring: Parallel ATA and a basic IDE install walkthrough: .

  3. Power rails and PSU checks — intermittent or low rail voltages will cause drives not to spin up or be recognized. Use a PSU tester or multimeter to check the 5V and 12V Molex pins, or temporarily swap in a known-good PSU to rule this out. How-To Geek has safe test procedures: . Also inspect the motherboard for bulging/leaky caps or burn marks—signs of damage that can kill one channel.

If the drive is detected when moved, the motherboard channel or its wiring is likely bad; a low-cost workaround is a PCI/PCIe IDE or SATA controller card, or using an external USB enclosure for the drive. Always power down and unplug before changing jumpers/cables and avoid ESD when handling components.

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Member Avatar for Rik_

It's because Emachines are the most cheaply made PC's out there and are utter rubbish. It's why they are so cheap to buy!

Member Avatar for malrofo

well it was thrown away right before i got it

Member Avatar for Rik_

It probably has a Bestec power supply in it. They are built with very poor power regulation and absolutely no over voltage or short circuit protection at all. It has most likely done damage to the motherboard.

Member Avatar for malrofo

it does have a bestec power supply, at least i know what i can do to fix it

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